


there's a cold lonely light that shines from you

by alex_archer



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: DEFINITELY canon divergent bc fuck the new eu, F/M, Jedi Tim post order 66
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22250788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alex_archer/pseuds/alex_archer
Summary: tragically self-indulgent pls ignore---nisha @pandoranmama & tim @me
Relationships: Timothy Lawrence/Nisha
Kudos: 3





	there's a cold lonely light that shines from you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PandoranMama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandoranMama/gifts).



He felt the blaster bolt before he heard it, flicking his lightsaber behind him to deflect it away from himself. With a simple flip back, he dismembered the assailant. A simple bounty hunter, one that most likely hadn’t even earned a place in the guild yet. If he had, he’d have known not to take a Jedi bounty as his first chit. Timothy found himself getting cocky in his escape, too cocky. The past few months had been rocky, his master had been killed and he’d been on the run ever since. Technically, he’s been on the run since the purge. He tried his best not to think about that, though. Looking to the future, and hopefully surviving long enough to see it.

So his hubris in thinking he could cut some slack ended up being his downfall. In his celebratory victory, Tim didn’t sense the shock grenade heading his way. He screamed as the electricity surged through him, succumbing to the crippling device. He fell to his knees, just in time to see the boots land in front of him. Armor plated, beskar. His heart dropped as he scanned up, the lithe figure was definitely the definition of terrifying. She stared down at him, which was good. The lack of a helmet meant the beskar was just practical. How she got the beskar, he didn’t want to know. For now, he’d settle for, “W-Who are you?”

Her smile didn’t put him at ease, especially not as she dropped to one knee to look him in the eye, “I’m the one who’s gonna use a Jedi as a meal ticket. Should tell you all you need to know, Handsome… Now sleep.”

The butt of the gun hit him in the face before he could wince, and he was out. When he woke, it was slow. It _had_ to be slow, or else he worried his nose might _actually_ fall off. The throbbing pain told him it was broken, and the taste of iron when he licked his lips told him the break was a bad one. Despite being tied up completely, he could feel the fatigue in his body from the shock grenade. The groan that left his lips wasn’t entirely due to that, however, as he heard the sound of boots on the metal grates.

“Nice to see you awake, cowboy. How ya feelin’?” He groaned for a _second_ time. “Aw c’mon. It’s not that bad. Not for a Jedi at least... “

He looked in the direction of the voice, squinting to focus through the disorientation. His lips curled downward into a scowl as he saw the device she turned over in her hands, “Hey! Put that down, it’s not a toy! You could break it!”

“Now, now… I’ve seen some of the stuff these things go through, literally, I know it’s not all that fragile. Now, the good news for you is that my carbonite chamber is broken. The bad news is that my hyperdrive is as well. The good news for _me_ is that you’ll pay off enough to fix both _and_ feed me for a month. I’ll just make sure to keep you nice and comfy for the couple’a days we’re drifting to the next planet. Sound good, handsome?” Timothy caught scoffing at the idea.

“You’re gonna keep me tied up on this clunker for days? For _days?_ Isn’t that some sort of rights violation? A war crime or something? Isn’t that against the guild’s honor code?” To be fair, it sounded stupid as soon as he said it.

“The guild _has_ no honor code, that’s why I work for them. Most of the time,” She bent to tap his cheek. A smile crossing her face, one he didn’t like the sight of. “So tell me. How does a padawan as cute as you last so long out here in the outer rim? Who’s been helping you?”

Timothy hissed, “I’ve been alone for months.”

Her tsking made him frown, she didn’t believe him, “C’mon, kid. If I hand them _two_ Jedi, the fact that the other is a bigger fish might be better for you in the long run… Tell me who your master is.”

“I’m not lying, I’ve been alone for months. I was padawan to Jedi Master Promethea, and she died months ago. She- She died saving me… again,” Tim felt his gaze drop, the emotion welling in his chest. He hadn’t talked about it, he’d shoved it too far down to bring up. He should have _probably_ dealt with it sooner.

“You’re telling me a scramp as green as you lasted out here alone for months? I saw you make quick work of the newbie grifter back on the planet, but I figured it was because of your brain magic thingy,” Timothy scoffed again.

“The Force is not magic, it’s-”

“It’s unimportant, that’s what it is. Listen, kid. You’re cute, but I want as big a bounty as I can get to cash in and fix my ‘clunker’ as you put it. Someone _had_ to have been helping you,” It dawned on him, then. He’d learnt of his birth family after the purge, Promethea had shown him his holocron records. Jedi weren’t supposed to have family, but Promethea never liked that part of the Jedi Code. She said it made heartless robots, no different than the battle droids of the enemy. To be fair, that’s probably why the Jedi Counsel assigned them to the outer rim in the first place. It’s also the reason he liked Promethea so much.

She’d told him of a twin, a brother. He dealt in the black market, somewhere in the Sullust region, “My brother is Handsome Jack. H-He works in black market dealings. That’s all I know, but he’s just as wanted by the Empire as he is by the rebels. He helps whatever hands pay him.”

The woman in front of him laughed, “Of course… Why didn’t I see it sooner? You too look exactly the same.”

“Wait… You know my brother?”

“Know him? He’s the one who’s paying your bounty,” The grin on the woman’s face cut into Timothy. She knew he wasn’t worldly, she knew it.

“Who are you? Why are you so okay with doing this to me? They’ll kill me,” Tim couldn’t help the sadness in his voice, the defeat sinking in truly.

It’s a good thing, because his sadness leaked into her too, and for some reason she found herself doubting. The kid wasn’t begging, not like the usual snivelling hauls, but she found herself considering letting him go, “I’m Nisha Kadam, the Lawbringer, and I- I think I wanna know more about you, kid.”


End file.
